TuneDig is an in-depth and informed conversation between two lifelong friends about the power of music — one album at a time.
In each episode, we go down the rabbit hole to spend a while in the strange world we discover. We take an honest look at creativity in all its complexity—from writing and production to history and cultural impact.
We promise you’ll learn something new every time, no matter how much you already love the album we explore.
DIG IT.
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It's pretty simple. ✌️
TuneDig Radio
HM-2
Part two of exploring our very specific favorite ways to discover and enjoy new music contrasts sharply with sampling’s vastness. Instead, Cliff laser-focuses in on a world inside four small knobs all dialed to 10.
The Boss HM-2 has spawned a prolific and diverse subculture, tied together by metal and hardcore artists’ quest for tones that differentiate and reflect the intensity of their material. If you love heavy music, you’ll love this playlist. If you don’t, we’re confident you’ll appreciate this headspace and its nuances.
Listen with full songs on the YouTube playlist
This new episode’s for the tone heads. If you dig cool sounds and you’re uninitiated to the unholy roar of the #HM2, let’s go for a ride through a big, bad world built by just four small knobs. DIVL IN TO THE VOID.https://t.co/NwW8pU0ZPk
— TuneDig (@tunedig) September 4, 2020
SEASON 5 EPISODES
TuneDig Episode 41: Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew”
Let’s be clear: "Bitches Brew" is a challenging record, even to some of the best musicians in the world — but all of them say it’s worth the investment. It’s the kind of trip that, even if we *could* draw a map, it wouldn’t take you there. Let go of the need for meaning and enjoy the ride with us. We can promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised where you end up.
TuneDig Episode 40: Fiona Apple’s “Tidal”
On the heels of one of 2020's most acclaimed albums — Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters — we revisited Apple’s debut Tidal and wound up working to extract ourselves from the mostly male gazes that made its reception … much different. We arrive at a question much like writer Jenn Pelly had: “People would constantly prod Fiona on how an 18-year-old could write songs as mature as these ... Why did they not ask instead how she became a genius?”
TuneDig Episode 39: Death Grips’s “The Money Store”
The modern world is accelerating beyond our control, shaping our reality in ways we can’t yet perceive or understand. Enter Death Grips, an art project capturing the chaotic energy and illustrating the absurdity of our hubris in trying to harmonize the surreal and extremely real — never more perfectly than on 2012’s prescient "The Money Store".
TuneDig Episode 38: Augustus Pablo’s “King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown”
Reggae music is easy to take for granted, but its impact is underappreciated and massive — in the case of dub in particular, everyone from Radiohead to Johnny Rotten to Run-DMC owes it a debt. Augustus Pablo and King Tubby together created what’s regarded as “one of the finest examples of dub ever recorded.” Join us as we dive into the culture, history, and unique engineering experiments that made it possible.
TuneDig Episode 37: Rihanna’s “ANTI”
By every measure — sales, awards, chart-toppers, global name recognition — Rihanna is objectively as big as the Beatles ever were. In fact, ANTI is so big it’s still on the charts, a record five full years later. Take a closer look with us at “the record you make when you don’t need to sell records”, and get a taste of the true freedom that comes from focusing on your inner voice when faced with insurmountable expectations.
TuneDig Episode 36: Son House’s “Father of Folk Blues”
All American music traces back to the blues, and deep at the root sits Son House. That the recordings on "Father of Folk Blues" even exist is something of a gray area that cuts to the heart of the great American myth, but wherever you land after hearing these stories, you’ll find that what matters most is what the great Muddy Waters once said of House: “That man was the king.”
TuneDig Episode 35: Melvins’s “Stoner Witch”
The futility of describing the Melvins has stretched critics in the direction of absurd words like “Dadaist” for nearly 40 years now. They’ve belligerently flogged any attempt to pinpoint their essence simply by being themselves, but "Stoner Witch" remains a reliable mall directory for the Melvins’ vast and wild discography. Grab yourself some pretzel bites.
TuneDig Episode 34: Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”
We should talk about Dolly the way we talk about Prince. Her extraordinary kindness and unique kitsch both make her universally loved, but what gets left out of the conversation is the very thing that made her famous: the music. Join in as we focus attention on the sonics and songwriting of the low-key masterpiece "Jolene".
TuneDig Episode 33: The Allman Brothers Band’s “The Allman Brothers Band”
Six enlightened rogues out of Macon, Georgia birthed an entire genre simply by being their soul-powered selves. We have not come to testify, but we’re still hung up on the dream The Allman Brothers Band helped us see. By the end of this episode, you will be, too.
RADIO EPISODES
SEASON 4 EPISODES
SEASON 3 EPISODES
SEASON 2 EPISODES
SEASON 1 EPISODES
BONUS TRACK EPISODES
BONUS TRACK: How We Got Here
We got a bunch of interesting listener feedback in our off-season, and it encouraged us to shed some light on why we do things the way we do ‘em. Also, we reflect on our first writeup, which was ... interesting.
ABOUT US
We're Cliff (left) and Kyle (right). We’re two dudes born and raised in ATL with day jobs in tech and entertainment, respectively.
We met in middle school, and in one way or another, music’s been the thing that’s kept us close for the two decades since — whether it’s sharing and talking about new music (like this podcast, except in our texts or over beers), going to shows, or working with our favorite record stores to help them survive and thrive.
We started TuneDig as a little art project that connects us more deeply ourselves and to the world through the infinite gift of music. We hope you’ll join us for the conversations, let us know what you think, and share discoveries of your own.
More About TuneDig
TuneDig began as a little something called MusicGrid.me, which we created after realizing there was no place online to directly exchange music recommendations with your friends. Our aim was simple: to make rating albums simple, useful, and social. We got some love from places like Mashable, Wired, Evolver.fm, and Hypebot. We managed to foster conversation between music lovers, get thousands of reviews, and meet great people.
Along the way, we realized that record stores were an essential part of the music lovers’ community. After many a conversation about how we could helpfully connect them to the people who loved them, we began helping them leverage technology to create new revenue streams and embrace streaming services without giving up what’s unique to them: expertise and curation. (Long live the counter clerk who knows exactly which record will be the right introduction to jazz fusion!)
TuneDig is our vision to connect music lovers with the music they love, because no matter how much has changed in the way we discover and enjoy music, recommendations from people you trust and respect will always be the best way to find new music you’ll dig. With this podcast, we’re channeling the spirit of trusted curation pioneered by record stores, and bringing you something to take you deeper into music you can love.